


Known

by ElijahDarling



Series: words i have no translation for [4]
Category: For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Fingering, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Seth Oliver - implied, Everyone is Queer, F/M, I feel like soulmates as a trope was originally developed for less misunderstandings and heartbreak, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, Pansexual Allison Adams, Pansexual Character, Pegging - implied, Possibly Unrequited Love, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, alternate Universe - Soulmarks, cause last time i checked no one was asking for Seth Oliver ficlets, oh well, this is my birthday present to myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 20:20:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15445056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElijahDarling/pseuds/ElijahDarling
Summary: "The worst complaint he has about leaving who he is up to the people around him is that nothing sits quite right, like wearing too small and too large clothes all at once, until the shape of him is pinched and obscured away."Seth is bad at being himself.





	Known

**Author's Note:**

> This is how I'm celebrating my birthday. If anyone wants to rock my world you can do so by posting another ficlet so we get ourselves an even 20 in the tag. I just really want more For the People fic all the fucking time, peeps.

The thing is -

 

Alright, so Allison has suggested that he always says that right before he’s about to say some bullshit. 

 

“The thing is I would never say something like that.”

 

“The thing is that I don’t really go for big fairy tale romantic gestures.”

 

“The thing is that I’m just not into the idea having your fingers anywhere near my ass.” 

 

(And yeah, that was clarified later as a “I am deeply uncomfortable with exactly how much I am into the idea of your fingers inside me.”)

 

But, really, the thing is that Seth has never been comfortable with who he is to other people. Allison tells him that he is a “good guy” - a rare find in a world of men saying they are nice and then never goddamn living up to that. He’s not sure he likes how she says that. It sounds positive, it sits pretty on her tongue and then unsettles him in ways he can’t quite articulate the longer it echos in his ears.

 

A “good guy”. So a boring guy? A safe one? A take one on the chin guy? A predictable guy? 

 

(He isn’t ashamed of being a clean cut, Midwesterner, alright? He just doesn’t like the tone people take when calling him that.)

 

So the thing is that Seth can get a little frustrated at the whole “I know who you are” comment when that is something he’s still finding out for himself. He doesn’t like being sized up, and he is surrounded by people very skilled at not just doing that, but in such a way that always goes for the vulnerable bits. 

 

Everyone, always, has his fucking number. 

 

And maybe he’s taken advantage of that even as he’s simultaneously felt like staging a revolt against the presumption. There are advantages to being read as credible and trustworthy, even if that also translates as boring. 

 

(There’s something thrilling about your girlfriend gently pushing into you with soft pets and sweet reassurance and telling you that she’s pretty sure you are going to love this, and then it’s the best night of your life.)

 

The thing is he’s terrified to declare himself. The worst complaint he has about leaving who he is up to the people around him is that nothing sits quite right, like wearing too small and too large clothes all at once, until the shape of him is pinched and obscured away.

 

That isn’t a bad complaint to have, when he knows that the perception of him as safe tends to keep him safe.

 

The thing is that he couldn’t put much stock in Soulmates. It wasn’t in the cards for him with a Leonard Knox written between his toes. He remembers his mom telling him about how one day his Soulmate, Sandra Bell would come along and wouldn’t it be sweet if she were a true Southern Bell and what a wedding that would be -

 

The thing is, when he asked her about why she always mentioned Sandra Bell but not Leonard Knox, she cuddled him close and teased him, saying “Baby, the bride gets all the attention come wedding day, but I’m sure your friend Leonard will be a swell best man.”

 

He knows he grew up in a kinder world than some people, but he also knows that he grew up in a world that was sometimes only kind because he was as expected, and nothing more.

 

Allison holds him close and says “I know you.”

 

He meets Sandra Bell. He meets Leonard Knox. They both size him up, and he is so, so A Person In Their Way.

 

He doesn’t know what to do when Allison decides the same.

 

The thing is he isn’t heartbroken at all.

**Author's Note:**

> I Tumblr at https://elijahdarling.tumblr.com/ Come prompt me?


End file.
